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An Indian campaign which advocates against female genital mutilation(FGM) is reaching a global audience, but here in Mumbai, it is being dragged into the dirt by a section of the Dawoodi Bohra community, which isn't happy with the momentum it is gathering and are intent on spamming it with porn and irrelevant postings.

The Facebook page for 'End FGM' is a space for members to share their experiences of FGM and engage in a meaningful debate on the traditional practice. The page, set up by Delhi-based publisher Masooma Ranalvi, has gotten significant traction and boasts a 2,000 member community.

On Tuesday a person with the account name Moiz Noori started putting up pornography on the page, and another person, Shabbir Mohsin Thanawala began to flood the page with irrelevant content. Angry members had the page administrators delete the post - while stating that they welcomed diverse opinions. Page admin Ranalvi told Mirror. "We are looking forward to debates that are respectable and not outright derogatory."

The Bohras, a sub-sect of Shia Islam, are the only community in India that practice FGM, in which the hood of the clitoris is cut at the age of six, causing young girls lifelong psychological and physical trauma.

Bohra Jamaats in London, Australia and US have already issued letters banning FGM. The global movement was significantly strengthened by a recent landmark verdict in Australia, which convicted three people for practicing FGM. The court relied on the testimonies of two young girls who narrated their ordeal, and convicted a 72-year-old former midwife, the mother of the two girls, and senior community leader Shabbir Mohammedbhai Vaziri.

The development comes at a time when many women from the 1.5 million strong Bohra community in India, raised their voice against the ritual, saying it amounts to child abuse. An online petition under the name 'Speak Out On FGM' has garnered more than 50,000 endorsements so far, by people within and outside the community.

Despite repeated attempts, Mirror was unable to contact the two accounts that had initiated the trolling.

Ozbhai
Bravo bravo to you and all those involved in spearheading this FGM VICTORY. But I wonder now if the authorities and the courts in Australia are going to hear this audio clip posted by ajamali that shows the open defiance of our MUFADDAL Maula in condemning the proposed ban on khatna. If the courts have based the sentencing on efforts from the leadership of the Bohra Community toward ending the khatna practice, then they should be aware of the sham of it - there is now a public mandate for secrecy for female FGM Or khatna.
Here it is again :

In the STS RA urus waaz, Mufaddal Saifuddin mandated female circumcision for all Bohras. He said that the "amal" should be done, in open for men and in secret for women!! This is in direct contradiction to the letters issued by various jamaats in the west banning FGM. . .
It also proves that letters from the jamaats are shams and that the community and it's leader actually promote FGM! Listen to the audio. from about 1:50

court jammats will show letter that it is not their instructions. How clever

Well in USA Dai cannot escape since Dawat E Hadiyah USA is registered as Corporate SOLO which clearly puts Dai Ul Mutluq as sole responsible for all the acts carried out in his name and if he is giving mixed signals then his WORD and Speech carries more weight then the letter written by some low key personnel

babdeen wrote:
Please let me know if you suspect FGM in Canada. We will immediately request an investigation by Justice Minister (Canadian AG).
Send your request with name of victim, name of parent(s) and name of Aamil. FGM is illegal in Canada and also relatively fast to initiate an investigation. BAB Deen

About two years ago, a complain was filed with the office of Canadian Justice Minister that new Aamil of Mississauga Khozeima Yamani may support FGM in Canada. The Justice Minister assigned it to Mississauga police department and an investigation was opened. Following that Khozeima was transferred out.

Yes, but that may have been true 2 years ago and before the Australian FGM judgement came down, and before these few resolutions were passed in 2016.

I'm still unsure and doubt if any of the 7 Canadian jamaats have passed resolutions in the last few months. There are only rumours that they have been passed, but none have seen a copy yet....same goes for Kenya, Norway, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the other 5-6 UK jamaats (besides London).

Now media has picked up story. http://m.timesofindia.com/city/mumbai/E ... 031699.cmsEyebrows raised after Syedna refers to female circumcision
MUMBAI: Efforts may be on to end the practice of female genital mutilation that young girls in the Dawoodi Bohra community are made to undergo in India but their spiritual leader may not be convinced yet as he went on to publicly encourage the act of khatna (female circumcision) albeit indirectly, in his recent sermon at the Saifee Mosque in Bhendi Bazaar.
A four-minute audio clip from Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin's bayaan (speech) on the occasion of the 51st Syedna Taher Saifuddin's death anniversary, has gone viral over a mobile messaging app and generated conversations within the community on how the Syedna's endorsement may urge close followers of the spiritual head to continue with the painful practice.
The clip begins with a plea from the Syedna speaking in a mix of Gujarati and Urdu. "We should keep our things strong, stay firm. Even the big sovereign states, whatever it is they say, if it makes any difference to our things, then we are not prepared to understand!" he says and then adds. "The act has to happen! If it is a man, then it is right, it can be openly done, but if it is a woman then it must be done discreetly, but then the act has to be done. Please understand what I am trying to talk about..."
A Mumbai resident present at the Hussaini Mosque where the sermon was being beamed live on a giant screen confirmed that the clip was what he had heard being broadcast. "The Syedna was reading from a script which is usually the routine on such an occasion but all of a sudden he went off and started talking in a cryptic fashion. It was confusing at first. Then we gradually realized that he was talking about female circumcision when he used words like amal (act), mamlakat (states) and that the act must be carried out discreetly for women and openly for men. It was very disturbing for me and my wife," he told TOI. A close friend of the Syedna family dismissed such an interpretation of the Syedna's speech when TOI called him. "It was a general comment. Nothing specific. People are interpreting it differently," he said alleging that, "Those close to the new claimant to the Syedna title are trying to target our revered Syedna (Muffadal Saifuddin)."
A 36-year-old Bohra woman who has lived through the horrors of khatna and currently settled in the US expressed her anguish having heard the clip. "Just a month ago many of us in the US received a letter from the jamaat (local community unit) that works under the Syedna's guidelines. It said that we must follow the law of the land and not practice khatna. I was thrilled, at peace with my faith. What I just heard reflects hypocrisy. I'm disillusioned and worried."

Hypocrisy on top of hypocrisy. First asking girls to lie in court. Then accept it. Than outlaw it in name of love for country. Then open defiance and promoting(without naming saying tame jaano cho ke Hu su kahu chu) . Then saying no no this is nothing to do with it it was general statement.

bohrabhai wrote:Now media has picked up story. http://m.timesofindia.com/city/mumbai/E ... 031699.cmsEyebrows raised after Syedna refers to female circumcision
MUMBAI: Efforts may be on to end the practice of female genital mutilation that young girls in the Dawoodi Bohra community are made to undergo in India but their spiritual leader may not be convinced yet as he went on to publicly encourage the act of khatna (female circumcision) albeit indirectly, in his recent sermon at the Saifee Mosque in Bhendi Bazaar.
A four-minute audio clip from Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin's bayaan (speech) on the occasion of the 51st Syedna Taher Saifuddin's death anniversary, has gone viral over a mobile messaging app and generated conversations within the community on how the Syedna's endorsement may urge close followers of the spiritual head to continue with the painful practice.
The clip begins with a plea from the Syedna speaking in a mix of Gujarati and Urdu. "We should keep our things strong, stay firm. Even the big sovereign states, whatever it is they say, if it makes any difference to our things, then we are not prepared to understand!" he says and then adds. "The act has to happen! If it is a man, then it is right, it can be openly done, but if it is a woman then it must be done discreetly, but then the act has to be done. Please understand what I am trying to talk about..."
A Mumbai resident present at the Hussaini Mosque where the sermon was being beamed live on a giant screen confirmed that the clip was what he had heard being broadcast. "The Syedna was reading from a script which is usually the routine on such an occasion but all of a sudden he went off and started talking in a cryptic fashion. It was confusing at first. Then we gradually realized that he was talking about female circumcision when he used words like amal (act), mamlakat (states) and that the act must be carried out discreetly for women and openly for men. It was very disturbing for me and my wife," he told TOI. A close friend of the Syedna family dismissed such an interpretation of the Syedna's speech when TOI called him. "It was a general comment. Nothing specific. People are interpreting it differently," he said alleging that, "Those close to the new claimant to the Syedna title are trying to target our revered Syedna (Muffadal Saifuddin)."
A 36-year-old Bohra woman who has lived through the horrors of khatna and currently settled in the US expressed her anguish having heard the clip. "Just a month ago many of us in the US received a letter from the jamaat (local community unit) that works under the Syedna's guidelines. It said that we must follow the law of the land and not practice khatna. I was thrilled, at peace with my faith. What I just heard reflects hypocrisy. I'm disillusioned and worried."

general comment on which 'amal'.? There are only few known topics in bohra sermons where 'isharabazi' is done. one is 'lannat on first three caliphs' but this does not constitute 'amal' and definately nothing of gents and ladies sort..so which 'amal' hypocrite muffu talking abt? Isharabazi is done by cowards that too from takht.wat tamasha of faith and religion..disgusting..'muffu sudhare je nahi..muffu nafat shaitan che'

However, in March 2016, Sahiyo received a cease and desist letter, a threat to serve legal notice to WordPress (under which http://www.sahiyo.com is registered) and to sue all the five co-founders individually under the breach of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for publishing resolution by the Anjuman-e-Burhani Trust of Sydney on banning Khatna in Australia, the letter stated that it was a copyright infringement on Sahiyo’s part to publish this resolution on our website http://www.sahiyo.com.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act is US based law, therefore Sahiyo who are probably Indian nationals will be sued by Australian party preventing Australian legal content that is public domain and now in Court public archives . really how easy or expensive legal action.

The letter in question. is public document submitted in court as undertakings, court has not declared them not for public and furthermore the letter was distributed to community members by unsecured email. there was no copyright notice provided on the letter or marked confidential. furthermore the documents are accessible by general public through court archives and freedom of information Act.The trustees also gave evidence and they are mentioned in court records.

The Jamaat Trustees have no purpose chasing women activists their pupose is to propogate religious matters. . No court will entertain the legal noticeas as it was used in a very serious criminal supreme court proceeding which has concluded where the accused were found guilty and sentenced pending home detention review .This is a scare tactic. Sahiyo.com should not fear at all. Nobody can shut them or prevent their freedom of speech and thought. This incident will only make sahiyo.com more popular and true freedom fighter and join the ranks of warriors in the cause of reformism. if they need help get in touch with me via private message. I would shame them by posting their notice for public view that a jammat is busy harassing women trying to prevent child abuse WordPress needs to be informed the content of the letter and background. Their CEO will be more than happy to help prevent child abuse.

As mentioned previously law enforcement agencies around the world regularly visit this site and also likely visit sahiyo.com. I assume they are aware of what is happening. The dawaat after sms threats and this letter are digging themselves into a hole.

I am amazed as to how the members of the Anjumane-Burhani (Sydney) are deceived by blind faith
or are in fear of Kothar that they no more fear Allah. I am assuming the trustees must have put their
hand on The Koran and thus lied in the court. All three accused having put their hand on The Koran
must have lied too. In spite of the lies these people are held on a pedestal and given the same respect
as if they have won a medal. Their behavior in the masjid is worth noting. If only someone could film
them in action.

The disgraced Amil Shk Shabbirbhai Vaziri who has resigned still resides in the Amil’s residence. His
wife attends all functions and collects “salaams”. Shk Vaziri’s two sons also attend all functions and sit
on the “chader” reserved for Amil’s sons and collect “salaams”. Don’t they realise that they are no
more Amil’s sons? Food is also supplied to Shk Vaziri’s family every time there is a function in the masjid.
Of course everyone including guests is invited for the majlis and niyaz but to supply food to Shk Vaziri’s
residence is a no no. He and his family should come down and eat with us.

Now the Trustees want to sue SAHIYO. Does the trust have funds? If they have money should it not be
used to carry out repairs to masjid?

Ozbhai is there any way we can get hold of the accounts of the Trust so as to see how the community
funds are being used? Is Shk Vaziri, who is not an Amil, being paid by the Trust? How can the Australian
Authorities be made aware of what is happening in the Jamaat so as to launch an investigation? How can
we stop Immigration religious priest visa to be issued to any prospective Amil or to SMS as well?
With his recent out burst SMS will never visit Australia and if he ever does, he should not be allowed to
cross the border into Australia.

In Australia the Jamaats are made up highly intelligent and educated people yet foolishness has no limits;
educated people of modern times are being deceived by blind faith. And Ghulam Muhammedbhai you are
100% correct. The jamaat letter should be thrown in the dustbin.

QRL you have been a long time fighter in this fight I salute you so has many across the years and they and I chat privately. I know many recently are rushing for glory now success is open I don't mind but pray they are doing in for the victims and for right reasons. I will leave the scene once the case is over for another mission like the silent crusaders we are too proud and shy to run for awards I will disappear in history and return occasally as new Avatar. You hang in there take the fight to next level , the pillar of evil that the faith was resting on has been give a powerful wobble, it's not over.

Your comments are worthy I know many people will realise slowly and the power of evil will recede. Ultimately Allah will restore respect and if people have misused his Quran He will look after its honor.

The FBI is following up on leads and tips concerning the practice of female genital mutilation in the US, where it says more than 500,000 women and girls are at risk of being subject to the controversial procedure.

We believe some of it is being conducted by medical practitioners – physicians, nurses, midwives – and some by female elders within the communities who have the distinction of being what is called a cutter,” said Special Agent Kerry Sparks, who focuses on FGM cases as part of the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU), in a statement.

The FBI now says it is currently looking into leads on the practice and hopes that community members will pass on information about potential cases.

The FBI is investigating tips and leads on the illegal practice of female genital mutilation.

Anyone who has information about an individual who is suspected of assisting or facilitating the practice of female genital mutilation, or FGM, is urged to submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

Human Rights
FBI Reaching Out About Female Genital Mutilation

05/13/16

More than 500,000 women and girls across the country—most of them living in metropolitan areas—are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation, a procedure that has long been practiced in many African and Middle Eastern countries as a cultural custom but has been illegal in the U.S. since 1996.

A report showing the number of women at risk was published in January by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the figure was much higher than previously estimated. A separate report last year by the non-profit Population Reference Bureau (PRB) determined that women and girls most at risk were concentrated in major cities like New York, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., where large diaspora immigrant communities have coalesced.

Female genital mutilation, also called cutting or FGM, involves partial or total removal of the external genitalia for non-medical reasons, with no discernible health benefits. Nearly one-third of the estimated 513,000 women at risk are under the age of 18, according to the CDC and PRB data.

International Human Rights Unit

With regard to human rights, the responsibilities of the Department of Justice—and the FBI—relate primarily to enforcement matters of five specific laws.

- Genocide (18 USC, Section 1091),

- Torture (18 USC, Section 2340A),

- War Crimes (18 USC, Section 2441),

- Recruitment/Use of Child Soldiers (18 USC, Section 2442),

- Female Genital Mutilation (18 USC, Section 116).

These five statutes typically grant the FBI jurisdiction when:

- The perpetrator is a U.S. person,

- The victim is a U.S. person, or

- The perpetrator, regardless of nationality, is located in the U.S.

The FBI is proactively investigating tips and leads on this illegal practice. Investigators are hoping victims and community members who are opposed to it will come forward and report cases.

Earlier this year, the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recognized the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (February 6) in a joint statement calling for eradication of the practice. The United Nations leads the zero-tolerance campaign, estimating that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.

Last July, President Barack Obama elevated the issue during a speech in Kenya. “There’s no excuse for sexual assault or domestic violence, there’s no reason that young girls should suffer genital mutilation, there’s no place in a civilized society for the early or forced marriage of children.” Obama said. “These traditions may go back centuries; they have no place in the 21st century.”

Practitioners claim they are abiding by deeply rooted beliefs and traditions. But it is more broadly seen as a human-rights violation. “It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls,” the U.N. said in a statement.

Despite being a criminal violation in the U.S., the practice continues in a variety of ways. “We believe some of it is being conducted by medical practitioners—physicians, nurses, midwives—and some by female elders within the communities who have the distinction of being what is called a cutter,” said Special Agent Kerry Sparks, who focuses on FGM cases as part of the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU).

A State Department video released in February, to coincide with the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, highlights stories of survivors and the role community leaders have in ending FGM.

After legislation banning FGM in the U.S. was passed in 1996, some young women were sent on trips to their home countries to have the procedure. In 2012, Congress passed additional legislation, the Transport for Female Genital Mutilation Act, making so-called “vacation cutting” illegal.

In 2005, two Southern California individuals pled guilty to charges related to a plot to allegedly perform FGM on two minors. In 2006, an Ethiopian man living in Georgia was convicted on charges of aggravated battery and cruelty to children for performing FGM on his 2-year-old daughter.

Unfortunately, it is a rare occasion when someone steps forward to report this crime to law enforcement. Most states don’t have their own laws criminalizing FGM, so many people may not know it’s a federal violation.

“A lot of our efforts focus on increasing community awareness,” said Thomas Bishop, chief of the IHRU. “We want people to know that the FBI is committed to preventing FGM within the United States.”

Anyone who has information about an individual who is suspected of assisting or facilitating the practice of FGM is urged to submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

Resources:
- International Human Rights Unit
- ICE, FBI recognize International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
- Video: Department of State IIP: Join the Global Conversation to #endFGM
- CDC Report: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the United States: Updated Estimates of Women and Girls at Risk, 2012 (PDF)
- Population Reference Bureau: Women and Girls at Risk of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the United States
- U.N. International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
- Equality Now: Fact Sheets and Background

I had made this comment in July 2015. Where is babdeen, SBM, keep us posted . Well done.

Ozdundee wrote:last weekend a big milestone occurred when the fruits of hard persistent labour delivers the most unexpected results when one of the most influential man delivers and paricipates in the mision . Few reformists had faith in the strategy , this is time for those victims in India to count their score, who came foreward , the international experts who consolidated the issue, raised unimaginable resesources and raised the fighf to a glabal agenda from Australia to UK , the USA , make it to UN . But all was not success, as India through several failed representation have dragged their feet , like they dragged their feet on similar women issues eg rape.However the attempts will continue . Indian government support and intervention will be key to force the dawaat to change.

Skeptics will be tempted to think these were coincidental events , that FGM made it to the presidents speech and may not be linked to Dawoodi Bohra. The US government is very aware of the publicity surrounding FGM and Bohra practises and reluctance of leadership to discourage it.

Nairobi, Kenya The statement gained thunderous applause but Mr Obama was not finished: Treating women as second-class citizens is a bad tradition: it holds you back. There’s no excuse for sexual assault or domestic violence, there’s no reason that young girls should suffer genital mutilation, there’s no place in a civilised society for the early or forced marriage of children. These traditions may go back centuries; they have no place in the 21st century. They are issues of right or wrong in any culture.

Mumbai: In the face of a virtual firestorm on the issue of female circumcision or khatna within the Dawoodi Bohra community in the past few months, around 21 Bohra men, spanning Mumbai, Pune, Udaipur, Patna, Canada and North America, have come out in support of women leading the fight against female genital mutilation ( FGM ) through an online pledge "to spread awareness against the practice and actively support the campaign to stop FGM".http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 407392.cms

Medical clinics in Singapore are carrying out female genital cutting on babies, according to people with first-hand experience of the procedure, despite growing global condemnation of the practice which world leaders have pledged to eradicate.

The FBI’s Detroit Division and HSI investigated the case with the assistance of the Livonia Police Department and with support of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Michigan and the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit, Criminal Investigative Division. Deputy Chief Sara Woodward of the Eastern District of Michigan, Fraud Section Assistant Chief Nick Surmacz and Trial Attorneys Amy Markopoulos and Malisa Dubal are prosecuting the case. The FBI’s Detroit Field Division has set up a tip line for anyone who has information pertaining to the illegal practice of FGM or Dr. Jumana Nagarwala. Please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5984) or file an e-tip at FBI.GOV/FGM.

In February, FBI agents obtained a court order to review Nagarwala’s phone. The records showed several calls between Nagarwala’s phone and a Minnesota phone number, according to the FBI.
Agents learned the Minnesota phone number was linked to a family that included a 7-year-old girl.
Agents reviewed records for the Minnesota phone and learned from cell tower data that the phone was near motels in Farmington Hills on Feb. 3 before being returned to Minnesota the next day.
Hotel records helped show two families, each with a young girl, stayed at the hotel on Feb. 3. Surveillance video from the unnamed hotel show two adult women and two girls checking into the hotel.
Seven days later, an FBI child forensic interviewer talked to one of the girls, who said she was brought to Detroit with a second girl for a “special girls’ trip,” according to the FBI.

After arriving in Farmington Hills, the girls were taken to a doctor because “their tummies hurt.”
“While at the doctor’s office, a procedure ‘to get the germs out,’” was performed on the first girl, according to the criminal complaint. The girl was shown a photo of Nagarwala and said she was the doctor who performed the procedure, according to the FBI.
The girl told the FBI that Nagarwala “pinched” her on the “place (where) she goes pee,’” the government alleges.
“(The girl) said that she was told not to talk about the procedure,” FBI Special Agent Kevin Swanson wrote in the complaint.
A subsequent medical examination showed that the girl’s genitals did not appear normal and a section had been altered or removed, according to the court filing.

A Michigan doctor has been accused of performing genital cutting on two 7-year-old girls at a medical clinic, in a case that federal officials believe to be the first prosecution under a law banning the brutal practice.
The doctor, Jumana Nagarwala, 44, was arrested on Wednesday on charges that she performed the genital cutting at an unnamed medical clinic in Livonia, Mich.; transported minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; and lied to federal agents.